Impact of ozone pollution on chemical communication in a highly

Impact of ozone pollution on chemical
communication in a highly specialized
plant-pollinator interaction
Magali Proffit∗†1 , Antoine Cavé , Benoit Lapeyre , Virginie Vilalta , Annick Lucas ,
Pierre Arnal , Bruno Buatois , Fernandez Catherine2 , Finn Kjellberg , Martine
Hossaert-Mckey , Michael Staudt , and Elena Ormeno3
1
Centre d’écologie fonctionnelle et évolutive (CEFE) – CNRS : UMR5175, Université Montpellier II Sciences et techniques, Université Montpellier I, Université Paul Valéry - Montpellier III, École Pratique
des Hautes Études [EPHE] – Campus CNRS - 1919 route de Mende - 34293 Montpellier cedex 5, France
2
Institut méditerranéen de biodiversité et d’écologie marine et continentale (IMBE) – INEE, Université
d’Avignon et des Pays de Vaucluse, Institut de recherche pour le développement [IRD] : UMR237, Aix
Marseille Université, CNRS : UMR7263, INSB, INSU – Faculté de Saint Charles, Case 4 - Bât. Sciences
Naturelles, 3, place Victor Hugo, F-13331 Marseille cedex 03, France, France
3
Institut méditerranéen de biodiversité et d’écologie marine et continentale (IMBE) – INEE, Université
d’Avignon et des Pays de Vaucluse, Institut de recherche pour le développement [IRD] : UMR237, Aix
Marseille Université, CNRS : UMR7263, INSB, INSU – Aix Marseille Université, Campus Etoile,
Faculté St-Jérôme case 421 Av. . escadrille Normandie-Niemen 13397 MARSEILLE CEDEX 20, France
Abstract
Volatile organic compounds (VOC) play a key role in the relationship between plants and
their abiotic and biotic environments. For instance, pollinators usually rely on floral scents
to locate their host plants. This chemical communication between plant and pollinator can
be disturbed by exposure to pollutants such as ozone (O3), whose levels have increased
in the troposphere and are predicted to further increase over the coming decades. In the
present study, we evaluated the impact of O3 concentration on different steps of the chemical communication between the dioecious Mediterranean fig, Ficus carica, and its highly
specific pollinating wasp, Blastophaga psenes. Firstly, using gas chromatography coupled
with electroantennographic recordings and behavioral tests, we found that a particular ratio
of three VOC is sufficient to attract B. psenes to the inflorescences of F. carica. Secondly,
using gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry, we analyzed the VOC emitted
by the inflorescences of F. carica in several localities in the French Mediterranean region.
Our results revealed that the concentration of O3 the day of collection affects significantly
the VOC emitted by the inflorescences, particularly the VOC used by the pollinator to find
its host plant. Finally, using behavioral tests in the laboratory, we observed that the exposure of B. psenes to O3 impairs its attraction towards the attractive mixture of VOC. These
results demonstrate that O3 pollution has the potential to alter the chemical communication
between plants and pollinators, and therefore the crucial ecosystem services provided by
pollinators.
∗
†
Speaker
Corresponding author: [email protected]
sciencesconf.org:sfecologie2016:108720
Keywords: air pollution, plant, pollinator interaction, floral volatiles, chemical ecology